How CuriousFutures Makes Your Idea Tangible
When you have an idea for a new food product, you probably know what it will taste, smell, look, and feel like. You likely already have a recipe your friends and family love, whether you created or inherited it. But how do you share that idea and turn it into a commercial good people will pay you for?
As you can imagine, there is a multifaceted process involved. Having a team of experts to guide you saves time, money, and headaches. You need someone who knows the industry and can ensure your idea is well thought out, proactively prevent common mishaps and design operations that can grow.
That’s why we’re here.
Why Choose CuriousFutures?
We make your idea tangible and viable through our experience, network, approach, and values.
Experience
We are product developers, compliance agents, and business strategists. Our team has experience in food and beverage manufacturing, agriculture, food science, technology, and cannabis.
After guiding a variety of products from concept to shelf for both startups and commercial operators, we’re very familiar with the process and know all it entails. When you work with us, you will feel supported knowing you’ve considered all angles, from manufacturing technicalities to compliance and branding cues.
Network
No problem is too big when you know who to ask. We have spent the past 20 years cultivating relationships across a variety of complementary fields. Our network represents the best in manufacturing, compliance, funding, technology, marketing, and public relations.
Approach
We’ve been called a “one-stop problem solving shop.”
What sets us apart from other consultants is our hands-on approach. We know what it takes to do what you’re doing and have the resources to accomplish it. When you work with us, you will feel confident knowing no detail was left unattended or questions unexplored — including the questions you didn’t know you had.
By the end of our time together, you’ll know how to do it yourself.
Values
As female founders, we love supporting women and minority-owned brands. We stand up for what we believe in and to strive to make businesses and products that are good for people and the planet. It’s not enough to do it well. Instead, our approach is always to go above and beyond.
How We Work
Our work follows a seven-stage process. Each step represents a specific phase of work. We want you to build your project at your own pace, so we support you and your internal team as much or as little as needed at each step.
Here is what you can expect:
Step 1: Alignment
All new relationships start with an alignment meeting. On this call, we take a deep dive into your project to identify the vision, scope, and resources, including:
Ideas
Goals
Budget
Team
Progress
Product Technicalities
Competitors
Brand Attributes
After the call, we send over a recap that outlines our roadmap, including any pre-work needed to kick off the next phase.
Step 2: Exploration
Depending on your project’s needs, we guide you through various exercises to refine your market position. Together, we will identify which products are your closest competitors and how you can differentiate yourself, the flavor profile of each SKU, and how they fit together as a product line.
Step 3: Bench Top
In phase three, we start work with your production team or approved co-packer to produce a small run for taste testing and recipe verification. Once this stage is complete, we will have a validated product formulation and data for labels.
Step 4: Packaging
Every product needs a good presentation. This step is all about validating the functionality of your base packaging, including product quantities, label net weights, and freshness at 30, 60, 90, and 120 days. At the end of this stage, you will have packaging ready for customizable prints.
Step 5: Supply Chain
It’s critical for any manufactured good to have a trustworthy and reliable sourcing network. At this stage, we will conduct site visits and risk assessments of your supply chain partners as needed. The outcome of this step is a site visit report, review, and close-out of corrective actions.
Step 6: Manufacturing
For the sixth step, we train your production team as needed. Our objectives are to prepare your team to execute Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), perform and process quality testing, and accurately report results. As a result, you will have a confident and knowledgeable team to help you with the heavy lifting.
Step 7: Quality Audit
Finally, to ensure compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and your brand-specific criteria, we will perform a site visit and inspection. We’ll review your operational and testing records and conduct a mock recall and traceability test. Our final audit report will include a review of the inspection and close-out of corrective actions so you can proceed with confidence.
Get Ready, Set, Go!
By the end of our time together, you will have all the tools, resources, and knowledge you need to introduce your product to the market. You will also have a team of experts, both ourselves and our expansive network, at your disposal for future questions and support.
Schedule a call to get started!